Learjethttp://robbreport.com/taxonomy/term/3016/all
enThe Fathers of Modern Private Flighthttp://robbreport.com/aviation/fathers-modern-private-flight
<img src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5h4r1pur071s0l1b8bc.jpg" /><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden view-mode-fulltext"><div class="field-items"><figure class="clearfix field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5h4r1pur071s0l1b8bc.jpg"><div class="galleria-content clearfix" id="galleria-1">
<a href="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleria_full/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5h4r1pur071s0l1b8bc.jpg?itok=ImpXZee-" rel="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5h4r1pur071s0l1b8bc.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-watch-collector-148x173" src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/watch_collector_148x173/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5h4r1pur071s0l1b8bc.jpg?itok=TxYqvf4p" alt="" title="Lear Jet 23 was the first Lear Jet borrowed from the P-16 jet fighter (front)." /></a><a href="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleria_full/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd51g9fk9q1n9ldg3hb94.jpg?itok=8AKT0-8N" rel="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd51g9fk9q1n9ldg3hb94.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-watch-collector-148x173" src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/watch_collector_148x173/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd51g9fk9q1n9ldg3hb94.jpg?itok=h7z6PYwA" alt="Photo by Philippe Stroppa" title="The first Falcon, Mystère 20, included elements of the Mystère IV jet fighter." /></a><a href="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleria_full/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5bjqkof1bua1ciu1q6i7.jpg?itok=jsVjj0b6" rel="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5bjqkof1bua1ciu1q6i7.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-watch-collector-148x173" src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/watch_collector_148x173/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5bjqkof1bua1ciu1q6i7.jpg?itok=n5Tp1k7P" alt="Photo by Katsuhiko Tokunaga/DACT Inc." title="Falcon 2000LXS, Dassault’s latest super-midsize jet, has a range of 4,600 miles." /></a><a href="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleria_full/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5rbdtlbnoe1c4t1vlp8.jpg?itok=M6j6pgii" rel="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5rbdtlbnoe1c4t1vlp8.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-watch-collector-148x173" src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/watch_collector_148x173/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5rbdtlbnoe1c4t1vlp8.jpg?itok=qGqYtraH" alt="" title="LearJet 85, Bombardier’s new midsize jet, will reach a speed of 541 mph." /></a><a href="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleria_full/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd512o610dv15kmutht1dd.jpg?itok=x-WWkEXc" rel="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd512o610dv15kmutht1dd.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-watch-collector-148x173" src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/watch_collector_148x173/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd512o610dv15kmutht1dd.jpg?itok=yflerVOO" alt="" title="Bill Lear" /></a><a href="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleria_full/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd51eevat51cls1eh91mdkf.jpg?itok=OSVquxec" rel="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd51eevat51cls1eh91mdkf.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-watch-collector-148x173" src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/watch_collector_148x173/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd51eevat51cls1eh91mdkf.jpg?itok=TBujhRfo" alt="" title="The Lear Jet 23 made its maiden flight in October of 1963." /></a><a href="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleria_full/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5qfp1c5m15in12ao1om5b.jpg?itok=ril0pzkv" rel="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5qfp1c5m15in12ao1om5b.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-watch-collector-148x173" src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/watch_collector_148x173/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5qfp1c5m15in12ao1om5b.jpg?itok=pe4IZUQA" alt="" title="The 10-passenger LearJet 85 cabin is the largest in the Learjet fleet." /></a><a href="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleria_full/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd529t14gmlog1qdc9ao6.jpg?itok=twKbvbGy" rel="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd529t14gmlog1qdc9ao6.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-watch-collector-148x173" src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/watch_collector_148x173/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd529t14gmlog1qdc9ao6.jpg?itok=hZxFypYf" alt="" title="Marcel Dassault" /></a><a href="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleria_full/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5g0k168gggd8mf1er75.jpg?itok=d2rPHgS3" rel="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5g0k168gggd8mf1er75.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-watch-collector-148x173" src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/watch_collector_148x173/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5g0k168gggd8mf1er75.jpg?itok=QCgKKIoE" alt="Photo by Katsuhiko Tokunaga/DACT Inc." title="The Falcon 2000XLS can land on and take off from relatively short runways." /></a><a href="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleria_full/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5rq014gf1v0sfcdbg.jpg?itok=NLbI5vqf" rel="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5rq014gf1v0sfcdbg.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-watch-collector-148x173" src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/watch_collector_148x173/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5rq014gf1v0sfcdbg.jpg?itok=-V6kvUdO" alt="" title="The Mystère 20 impressed the Pan Am delegates, including Lindbergh." /></a><a href="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleria_full/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5l6uo4l1gg8nuj1u3ba.jpg?itok=25vTKAsb" rel="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5l6uo4l1gg8nuj1u3ba.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-watch-collector-148x173" src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/watch_collector_148x173/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd5l6uo4l1gg8nuj1u3ba.jpg?itok=y7-9UR6d" alt="" title="The new light LearJet 70 can reach 535 mph and fly at 51,000 feet." /></a><a href="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleria_full/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd512f4m15ljh1p5f1qgk9.jpg?itok=gUpFNaWO" rel="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd512f4m15ljh1p5f1qgk9.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-watch-collector-148x173" src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/watch_collector_148x173/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd512f4m15ljh1p5f1qgk9.jpg?itok=50isnj9i" alt="" title="On its maiden flight the Lear Jet23 cruised at a remarkable 500 mph." /></a><a href="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleria_full/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd512fqkg55svd861puue.jpg?itok=dH22ghWJ" rel="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd512fqkg55svd861puue.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-watch-collector-148x173" src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/watch_collector_148x173/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd512fqkg55svd861puue.jpg?itok=lzdkCZ6a" alt="" title="Falcon 2000LXS cabin amenities include high-definition video screens as large as 22 inches." /></a><a href="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/galleria_full/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd51os5lebqf616l51t2r3.jpg?itok=RLYejRJd" rel="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd51os5lebqf616l51t2r3.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-watch-collector-148x173" src="http://robbreport.com/sites/default/files/styles/watch_collector_148x173/public/images/articles/2013Oct/160811//p181vd1rd51os5lebqf616l51t2r3.jpg?itok=DeZmF6bS" alt="" title="The 6-foot-3 Lindbergh was impressed with the Mystère 20 cabin’s spaciousness." /></a></div>
</figure></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden view-mode-fulltext"><ul class="field-items"><li class="field-item even">
Michelle D. Seaton</li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden view-mode-fulltext"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Even if Bill Lear’s name had not become synonymous with private jets, he still would be an aviation-industry legend. Lear may have started out as just another high-school dropout with a passion for making radio receivers, but he had an unusually high IQ and could be monomaniacal about his tinkering, working so many hours that he often forgot to eat. In the 1920s, Lear invented one of the first car radios. (He also invented the 8-track tape, in 1964.) Then he fell in love with flying. He built a biplane in his backyard (but he could not get it to fly). Later he bought a plane and paid a commercial pilot to teach him to fly it. He got lost on his first cross-country flight, which led him and his company, Lear Developments, to improve the signal receivers inside airplanes so that it would be easier to find beacons at airports. Then he created the Learoscope, a direction finder that enabled pilots to navigate using radio signals. He continued to invent instruments for flying, including the autopilot, which drew the interest of the U.S. military.</p>
<p>In 1960, at age 58, Lear was very wealthy and equally restless. Like everyone else in the aviation industry, Lear looked at Boeing’s 707, the first successful passenger jet, and saw the future of air travel. Already, airports were building longer and more durable runways to accommodate the airliners.Already, a new generation of air traffic controllers had to be trained to track them.</p>
<p>Lear should have been thinking about how to build instruments for these jets. Instead, he wanted to build one of his own. He wondered why a smaller jet would not sell to businesses and private owners that could afford one. Weren’t they in a hurry to get to their destinations? Didn’t they want to fly above the clouds on their own schedules? There was only one problem: Lear had never designed an aircraft. </p>
<p>He had loved tinkering with his old Lockheed Lodestar, a World War II–era troop transport that the Air Force had given him so that he could design new autopilot systems. But Lear wanted to see how fast the plane could go, so during the mid 1950s, he replaced the engines to give it more power. He also had his engineers remove the door handles and file down the rivets to reduce drag. Then he tore ...Tue, 22 Oct 2013 22:04:30 +0000Michelle D. Seaton160811 at http://robbreport.com